6

Jager

As soon as the door closed, I whipped my head around and lashed out at River. “What the fuck, man?”

He opened his beer but didn’t look me in the eye. “What?”

“Don’t fuck with me. You know what.”

He shrugged. “I really don’t. You wanted to come over and talk, so what do you want to talk about?”

I pointed to the door. “That.”

“You didn’t know about Stewart before now, so why would you want to talk about him?” He put his feet up on the couch and I wanted to shake him.

Instead, I walked over to the couch and stood in front of him with my arms crossed. “I thought I would come here tonight and see if we could hang out like we used to. And tell you I finally understand why you weren’t comfortable having a friend date your sister. But then, this!” I pointed to the damn door. “Stewart fucking Price walks in and I find out he’s dating your sister. Are you fucking serious right now?”

“She’s a grown woman now. She can do what she wants.”

I thought my molars would crack under the pressure I put them through. I could have torn a strip of leather off of a belt, I was so fucking mad. “Nah. That’s not it. It’s more personal than that. You didn’t want your sister dating me .”

As soon as the words came out, I knew they were true. River’s left eye twitched, and he held the beer to his lips for several seconds before taking a sip.

“Why?” I asked.

He drank his beer and reached for the remote.

“At least have the balls to tell me the truth.” I stood there and seethed.

“Why can’t you let this go? You were teenagers. It wasn’t like you were going to get married. You act like I ruined your life or something. It was a long time ago. Let it go.”

He was right. We had flirted for years but only been dating exclusively for eight months. I hadn’t thought about marriage or anything beyond spending time with Bianca back then, but there was something I couldn’t explain. A feeling in my gut that couldn’t let this go. I felt as though he’d robbed me of something I could never get back.

“Were you jealous?”

He scoffed. “Of you!”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be an asshole. I wasn’t jealous of you.”

“You hated that I always got the girl. I’d kissed a woman before you did, had sex before you did—”

“That’s not it,” River said, his eyes narrowing as he watched whatever was on the television.

“You knew you could stop me from dating this one girl and you did it. You selfish bastard.”

He slammed his beer on the table in front of him and turned his stormy eyes to me. “I didn’t do it to spite you. I did it to protect her!”

Heat rushed from my neck to my cheeks. “From me? I’d never hurt her. You know I’d never do that to a woman.” The insult only fueled my anger.

“She had been through a lot. She needed someone safe. You were reckless. You took stupid risks and nearly got yourself arrested with the Feds.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I couldn’t tell him he was wrong. Maybe I wasn’t good enough for Bianca then. “Well, a lot has changed since high school.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re a big deal now. You rub elbows with politicians and celebrities. You’re probably richer than Bill Gates. But that doesn’t change who you are. I don’t think you’ll ever change, Jager. You live off of the adrenaline. You don’t ever play it safe. And I don’t think you ever will. I told you this ten years ago, and I’m saying it again now. Stay away from my sister.”

The words echoed in my head. Stay away from my sister . My body reacted the same way it did then. I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but a part of me knew what he said was right. I was all of those things, and he was just looking out for Bianca. But I also knew in my heart that I would never hurt her. “Whatever, man. I won’t bring it up again. And after tonight, consider this discussion over.” Then I leaned down over his beer and looked him in the eyes. “But just so you know. I would protect your sister with my life.”

River picked up his beer and the remote again. “I know. That’s why you’re here. But that’s where it’s got to end.”

I nodded and swallowed my anger and indignation. I walked over to the door and let myself out. I felt no relief after having that conversation with River. There wasn’t a sense of closure. Instead, it felt as though a wound had been torn open. All those past insecurities rose to the surface, and it felt as though I couldn’t breathe.

As I drove back to my apartment, I ran through all the reasons River was right about me. I convinced myself that I was no good for Bianca. Besides, there was no obvious interest from her end. She behaved professionally and courteously to me. Never once had she flirted since I’d returned to her life.

I mindlessly tore off my clothes and hopped into the shower. The adrenaline of emotions burned through me as though I’d run a marathon. Pressing my palms against the wet tiles, I let the cold water hit my scalp and fall down my neck and back, sending goosebumps across my skin until my body adjusted to the temperature. The fog cleared from my head and the cold shower had the desired effect of cooling my temper and emotions.

By the time I sat in front of my computer, I was focused once again on finding that delivery man.

I pulled up my laptop and checked the face recognition software’s progress. It had been running for a few hours now, but still no hit. It would take a while to go through the New York police database and the social profiles. And if that didn’t come up with a match, I’d run it through the FBI’s Most Wanted list.

And if that didn’t work, there were some less ethical programs I could use. Ones that used street cams placed by people who didn’t work in law enforcement. But they kept tabs on the neighborhood, nonetheless. I could tap into their services without them being any wiser for it.

As I waited for the program to do its thing, I received a call from Will. “Hey, boss.”

Will started the bodyguard business, and we often joked that he was our boss, even though he’d never taken any credit for bringing us all together. He said we all had our roles to play.

“You know I hate it when you call me that.” I did, so I smiled.

“What’s up?”

“I’m checking in to see how it’s going with the Towers’ case.”

“Sort of like what a boss would do?”

He swore under his breath. Will didn’t check-in because of business. He usually wanted to make sure we were all right. He was the sort of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. But I still liked teasing him. “Another threat was made, but the security guard stopped it before it was delivered. The safety measures are working, but this guy isn’t deterred.”

“Mmm…”

“Cops are checking the weapon for prints, and I’m running the delivery guy’s face through some programs now.”

“All right. Let me know if you need my help for anything. Don’t run into any burning buildings or anything like that without me.”

I grinned wider because I knew Will wasn’t kidding. We had a knack for getting ourselves into a bit of heat, and Will and I had just barely escaped from a burning house a few months ago. I wish I could say it would be the last time, but we both knew it wasn’t.

“Will do, brother.” I was just about to hang up when I remembered something. “Oh, and by the way, we had a really good month in the stock market. That mushroom company I asked you all to invest in a few months ago just had a breakthrough and released its findings to the media. As soon as they published their results, their stock went nuts.”

“How did we do?”

“We did well.” We could each buy ten homes in Manhattan with what we just made on this one stock.

“Mmm. That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“You know we appreciate you for more than the financial tips you give us, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”

“Mmm. Doesn’t sound like you do.”

“I’m just tired.”

“Okay. Get some sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good night, Will.”

“Night, Jager.”

After ending the call, I stared at my phone. I knew my brothers had my back and appreciated me. But they knew me after I joined the army, once I’d turned my life around. In some ways, it felt like they didn’t know the whole of me like Bianca and River did.

I pushed off my chair and went to make myself a sandwich. I skipped dinner before going to meet with River. My stomach had been in knots and while it still wasn’t settled, at least making a sandwich kept me busy.

I’d just torn off a crisp piece of lettuce when my computer pinged.

Leaving my unfinished sandwich on the counter, I walked back to my desk. The screen lit up and two photos, side by side, popped up. One was the delivery guy, and the other was a mugshot of a man who looked very much like him. He had the same eyes and a scar on his eyebrow.

I clicked on the mugshot, and it pulled up the New York City Police report. The man had been arrested for possession of marijuana three years ago, but the case had been dropped by the District Attorney’s office.

The man’s name was Gregory Spencer, and he lived at 22 Oaks Road, just east of downtown.

Checking the time on the bottom right hand of my screen, I wondered if eleven was too late to pay someone a house call. Probably. But it wasn’t too late for a stakeout. I wouldn’t get any sleep, anyway.

I finished my sandwich, grabbed my jacket and keys, and headed out the door.

Despite the late hour, there was still a pile-up of cars down Park Avenue. Manhattan never slept. I could relate.

There was a scuffle at the corner. At first, I thought it was two guys getting into it, but when they moved under the streetlight, I noticed the feminine curve of a cheek and realized one of them was a woman.

I wished I could say there was a thought in my brain when I pulled over, but there wasn’t. It was pure instinct. Or recklessness. Either way, I didn’t think about what I would do next, just knew I wasn’t going to drive past some guy beating on this woman.

I jumped out of the driver’s side and my brain quickly assessed that he wasn’t carrying a weapon. I grabbed the man by the back of his hoodie and pulled him off of the woman. She fell to the floor once she was released, but scurried back up.

“What the fuck?” The man in the gray hoodie shouted at me.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded, but held her cheek. I couldn’t see any injuries, but it was dark, and she was mostly covered by her coat and scarf.

“Do you want me to call the police?” I asked her.

She stared at the man, and he pushed forward, but I stopped him with a fist to his collar. “Whoa.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I sensed the blade before he moved it, or perhaps I read his intentions in his eyes. Either way, I blocked the knife before he could stick it in my gut, but the bastard still cut a deep gash into my forearm.

“Oh my God,” the woman screamed.

The coward looked at me and must have sensed my anger rising because he hightailed it and ran down the street.

“Are you all right?” the woman asked. “Here.”

She tore off her scarf and tied it over my bloody forearm to staunch the bleeding. “Thanks.”

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You’re thanking me? I should be the one thanking you. Why did you pull over?”

“Because I saw the whole thing happening as I was driving.”

She shook her head. “People walked by and did nothing. You could have driven away, but you stopped.”

“It was nothing.”

“Not to me.”

She placed her hand gently on my forearm. “Thank you.” When she moved closer to me, I noticed the bruise on her jaw.

“You should go to a hospital.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

“I insist.”

“This,” she pointed to her jaw, “is old. We just had some words tonight. I’m ok.”

“What I saw didn’t look okay to me.” I pulled a card from my wallet. “This is the number of someone you can call. Her name is Gabriella, and she helps women like you get out.”

“I don’t—”

“Maybe not today. But maybe you’ll need her tomorrow. Just keep the card.”

She stared at it and then slid it into the back of her jeans. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s just a scratch.” I looked up at the building. “Do you live here?”

She nodded. “I’ll wait until you get inside.”

She smiled. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Jager.”

She smiled. “Like the rock star?”

“Just the name. I don’t have his moves.”

“Right. Yours are better.” She stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jager.”

After we shook hands, she thanked me again, then turned and walked away. I waited until she was inside her building and there was no sign of the bastard around. Then, I got into my car and opened the first aid kit that I kept in my car. This wasn’t the first time I acted before thinking. But I trusted my instincts, even if they led me toward danger. I was still here and kicking.

By the time I cleaned the cut and bandaged it up, it was closer to midnight when I reached Gregory Spencer’s house. The lights were out and there was a car in the driveway. I parked the car and reclined my seat.

It would be a long night, but first thing in the morning, I would have a chat with the man.